Ill-treatment and harassment of Mr. Waleed Abu Al-Khair, prominent human rights lawyer

SAU001 / 0415 / OBS 035

Arbitrarydetention / Ill-treatment

SaudiArabia

April23, 2015

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgentintervention in the following situation in Saudi Arabia.

Descriptionof the situation:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the ill-treatment andharassment of Mr. Waleed Abu Al-Khair, prominent human rights lawyer,Founder and Director of the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (MHRSA)[1].Mr. Abu Al-Khair acted as lawyer for human rights defender Raif Badawi.In 2012, he was awarded the Olof Palme Prize for human rights for his “strong,self-sacrificing and sustained struggle to promote respect for human and civilrights for both men and women in Saudi Arabia”.

Accordingto the information received, on April 18, 2015, Mr. Abu Al-Khair, who facescontinued harassment in prison, lodged a complaint to the prison administrationregarding beatings happened on the same day. To date the complaint has not beenconsidered.

OnApril 21, 2015, as retaliation for lodging the complaint, Mr. Abu Al-Khair, wasbeaten, threatened and insulted by another prisoner in Al-Ha’ir rehabilitationprison in Riyadh, where he has been detained since his transfer from Malazprison on February 4, 2015. Later on, policemen came to the cell of Mr. Abu Al-Khairand threw all his belongings on the ground, searching for prohibited items.

TheObservatory fears that said harassment stems from Mr. Abu Al-Khair's action forthe respect of the rights of prisoners in prison.

Mr.Abu Al-Khair was arrested on April 15, 2014 while appearing at the fifthsession of his trial before the Specialized Criminal Court, which deals withterrorism cases, in Riyadh. On February 15, 2015, the Specialized CriminalCourt of Appeal in Riyadh confirmed a sentence of 15 years in prison, a travelban of equal duration following imprisonment, and a fine of SR 200,000(approximately EUR 46,957). The charges against him were “striving to overthrowthe state and the authority of the King”, “criticising and insulting thejudiciary”, “assembling international organisations against the Kingdom”,“creating and supervising an unlicensed organisation”, and “contributing to theestablishment of another” and “preparing and storing information that willaffect public security”[2].

Furthermore,the Observatory recalls that Mr. Abu Al-Khair's sixth transfer since thebeginning of his detention to a prison located approximately 1,000 km away fromhis home city came without any warning and after his refusal to recognise thelegitimacy of the trial court and to apologise.

The Observatory is greatly concerned by the arbitrarydetention and allegations of ill-treatment of Mr. Abu Al-Khair, and jointlywith other human rights organisations referred his case to the UN Working Groupon Arbitrary Detention[3].

The Observatory therefore reiterates its calls on theSaudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Abu Al-Khair,as his conviction is aimed at preventing him from carrying out his legitimatehuman rights activities in Saudi Arabia.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in Saudi Arabia asking them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrityof Mr. Abu Al-Khair, as well as of all human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia;

ii. Immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Abu Al-Khair, as well asall human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in Saudi Arabia;

iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment and intimidation, including at thejudicial level, against Mr. Abu Al-Khair and all human rights defenders inSaudi Arabia, and ensure in all circumstances that they are able tocarry out their work without unjustified hindrance and fear of reprisal;

iv. Conformwith the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted bythe General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially itsArticle 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and inassociation with others, to promote and to strive for the protection andrealisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national andinternational levels”, as well as its Article 12.2, which provides that theState shall “take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by thecompetent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others,against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adversediscrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of hisor her legitimate exercise of his or her rights”;

v. Moregenerally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights andfundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of HumanRights, ratify international and regional human rights instruments andharmonise its domestic law with international human rights instruments.

Addresses:

· His Majesty, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud,King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, Office of HisMajesty the King, Royal Court, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax: (viaMinistry of the Interior) +966 11 403 3125

· H.E. Shaykh Dr Mohammed bin Abdulkareem Al-Issa,Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, University Street, Riyadh 11137,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax: + 966 11 401 1741 / + 966 11 402 0311

· His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin AbdulAziz Al Saud, Minister of Interior, Ministry of the Interior, P.O. Box 2933,Airport Road, Riyadh 11134, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax: +966 11 403 3125

· H.E. Mr. FaisalBin Hassan Trad, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabiato the United Nations Office in Geneva, Route de Lausanne 263, 1292 Chambésy,Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 758 00 00. Email: saudi.mission.ch@mofa.gov.sa

· H.E. Mr. Abdulrahman bin Soliman Al-Ahmed,Ambassador, Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Brussels, Avenue Franklin Rosevelt, 451050 Brussels – Belgium. Fax: +32 2 6468538. Email: beemb@mofa.gov.sa

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Saudi Arabia inyour respective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva, April 23, 2015

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of thisappeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protectionof human rights defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their timeof need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and faxFIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

· Tel and faxOMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

[1] Theapplication to register MHRSA as a human rights NGO was rejected in 2012.

[2] See theObservatory's Press Release, February 20, 2015.

[3] See the Observatory’s Joint Press Release, April 15, 2015.